Will you run it? A gatekeeping experiment examining credibility, branding, and affiliation within information subsidies

Information subsidies from military and civilian public relations practitioners receive varying degrees of acceptance by media gatekeepers. Using an experimental design, this study examined organizational affiliation within media gatekeeping. Television news decision-makers were randomly assigned one of five mock live news reports with only the reporter's clothing and on-air title manipulated. Results indicated affiliation did not affect gatekeeper use. Higher credibility was attributed to spokespersons with no organizational affiliation, and to military practitioners over civilians.